Transit Agencies, COGs, & MPOs Working In Coordination w/ Municipalities to Obtain Funding - Plenary Session

The connection between public transit & health is clear. Research shows that transit helps increase physical activity, lowers levels of disease related to environmental factors, and results in greater pedestrian and vehicular safety.

Public transportation is an affordable mobility option for residents of communities nationwide, but it’s too frequently underfunded. This results in low-quality service and low ridership.

Today, the federal government has only a minor role in funding US transit operations, supporting the cost of only about 7 percent of the nation’s bus and rail services before the pandemic. Federal funding for transit comes primarily through the U.S. Department of Transportation & is administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). These funds are appropriated from either the Highway Trust Fund or the general fund. State & local governments, on the other hand, funded much more.

To apply for federal & state funding, a lot of the documentation relates to local City comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, parking requirements, pedestrian & bicyclist plan, affordable housing requirements, & other mobility plans. We will cover the importance of cities working together with their transit agencies, COGs, & MPOs to ensure plans are up to date when requesting funding. In addition to larger programs such as the FTA Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Program & Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program funds investments in transportation infrastructure (including transit), the 5-Year Transportation Plans for COGs and MPOs rely on these same plans for potential state funding.